OXFAM IN VANUATU: CYCLONE PAM RESPONSE

WHAT OXFAM IS DOING

Water, sanitation and hygiene — providing clean water, rehabilitation of water sources, distributing hygiene kits and carrying out hygiene education activities.

Emergency food security and vulnerable livelihoods — supporting immediate and medium- term livelihoods recovery in target communities.

Gender and protection — ensuring that community members, especially women, young people and people with disabilities, participate in and influence safe and equitable recovery programs.

Coordination — leading and coordinating the Vanuatu Humanitarian Team, representing humanitarian agencies in Vanuatu and providing support to the National Disaster Management Office.

RESPONSE IN NUMBERSOxfam has reached at least 24,910 people (12,477 men, 12,433 women) in more than 60 communities on three islands — Efate, Epi and Ambrym — since Tropical Cyclone Pam struck on 13 March 2015.

OVERVIEWSunday 13 September 2015 will mark six months since Tropical Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu. Tropical Cyclone Pam caused widespread destruction across the eastern and south-eastern islands of the country. The eye of the Category 5 cyclone passed close to Efate Island — the location of Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila — affecting about 188,000 people across 22 islands. An estimated 15,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, about 96% of food stocks decimated and the water supply of 110,000 people was disrupted, destroyed or contaminated.

The response to Tropical Cyclone Pam began immediately after the storm left Vanuatu’s borders. In the six months since the event, more than 50 organisations, both local and international, have worked together under the lead of the Vanuatu Government to ensure relief efforts are coordinated and aid is getting to those who need it most. Humanitarian activities have now moved from the response phase into the recovery phase, and Oxfam’s programming for the next period will reflect this shift in focus, as well as the predicted impacts of El Niño on weather patterns.

EFATE

Ambrym

Epi

13 September 2015

Thanks to the generosity of donors and supporters from across the globe, Oxfam’s response to Tropical Cyclone Pam has reached close to 25,000 people in the first six months.

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Water, sanitation and hygieneIn recent months, Oxfam’s water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) team has finalised its Tropical Cyclone Pam emergency relief phase activities and focused on initiating a full-scale rehabilitation and recovery program in Shefa province. Communities on the islands of Efate (north and east), Epi (south and west), and Emae (west) are the main focus areas for this work, comprising of more than 80 communities and 15 schools. Detailed WASH assessments and community consultations were conducted in all these areas to identify the level of WASH assistance required in schools, communities and health centres. This information has been used to initiate Oxfam’s recovery phase WASH program, including:

• a sanitation subsidy program where participants receive a 50% subsidy on latrine construction/rehabilitation costs;

• distributions of essential sanitation materials; and

• construction or rehabilitation of community hand dug wells, rainwater catchments and water supply systems (gravity fed and solar pumped).

Oxfam also recently commenced conducting Water Safety and Security Planning sessions, as endorsed by the Vanuatu Government, World Health Organization, and UNICEF. These sessions are designed to train local water committees on planning for water quality (safety) and quantity (security), whilst mobilising community-led water and sanitation system rehabilitation works. This work is of particular importance in the face of the El Niño drought, forecast to impact the region in coming months.

DONATIONS IN ACTION:• 265,800 litres of clean water delivered to 3,474 beneficiaries through water trucking activities on Efate Island.

• 13,809 people accessing clean water through water system rehabilitation.

• 20,928 people on Efate and Ambrym Islands receiving hygiene kits.

• 3,406 people learning good hygiene practices through watching a theatrical performance by Oxfam’s partner Wan SmolBag.

• 700 people across eight communities — including two schools and a dispensary — provided with large-scale gravity-fed water supply system reconstruction.

• 10,000 people attended hygiene awareness sessions and received Information, Education and Communication materials.

Porta Vila, Vanuatu: Oxfam team unloads second tank from truck. Water tanks were loaded onto the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior to be transported to Epi Island. Oxfam partnered with Greenpeace to help with water provision to the outer islands as part of Oxfam’s emergency response to Cyclone Pam. Photo: Groovy Banana/OxfamAUS.

Emergency food security and vulnerable livelihoodsAssessments carried out in the weeks following Tropical Cyclone Pam identified food supply and income generation as two priority areas for affected communities. The cyclone destroyed the majority of food crops, including those that many communities rely on as cash crops (those they grow to sell for income). Our response has focused on reinvigorating the local economy, and providing supplies and support for communities to increase food production and availability.

Oxfam has been working with different local networks to implement cash-for-work projects throughout the urban and peri-urban Port Vila area, on Efate Island. This program provides a way for families, who may be experiencing severe income stress after the disaster, to earn money in the short term. While it is important the work done through the project contributes to the community, the main aim is to provide participants with some short-term support to pay for extraordinary expenses in the wake of the cyclone.

To help affected families recover their livelihoods and lost assets, Oxfam has implemented a voucher project. Families in target communities are receiving vouchers, which they can exchange at local suppliers for farming and building materials, or for general goods they need. Oxfam has supported households from nine communities on Efate Island with vouchers.

We are also working in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation to distribute seeds to communities on Efate and Epi islands to help kick-start their gardens and diversify the local market. Along with seeds, Oxfam has been working to provide livelihoods kits to people in target communities. These kits include tools for gardening and maintenance to support the rehabilitation of small-scale food gardens and crops. Oxfam has supported households in 17 communities with assorted vegetable seeds and tools on Epi Island, and two communities on Efate Island. In addition to this, Oxfam initiated five vegetable nursery/demonstration plots in Eratap community, Efate Island.

In addition to Oxfam’s work directly supporting communities, we are also supporting key local partners. For example, we are providing funds to Farm Support Association to rehabilitate semi-commercial household agro-enterprises by providing resources such as tools, chickens, seeds and materials, and mentoring to help people restart their businesses.

Donations in action• Oxfam distributed seeds to at least 5,218 people on Efate and Epi islands.

• 1,523 people received livelihoods kits made up of tools and gardening supplies.

• Oxfam distributed vouchers for people to exchange for tools, equipment and other goods, benefitting at least 4,016 individuals.

• 479 people have taken part in cash-for-work programs.

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Matarisu Village, Vanuatu: Oxfam distributed vouchers to families affected by Cyclone Pam. The vouchers can be exchanged at specific local stores and suppliers for farming and building materials, and other general goods. The aim is to help communities rebuild their livelihoods and grow food. Photo: Groovy Banana/OxfamAUS.

Gender and protectionOxfam’s focus on gender and protection in the Tropical Cyclone Pam response has been to address the basic needs of all community members, including women, young people and people with disabilities; promote women’s empowerment and equal decision making between women and men; and strengthen our own capacity to promote gender equality and disability inclusion in our programs.

Oxfam’s rapid gender analysis showed that the needs of women, girls and people with a disability are often not addressed without specific effort. Oxfam has implemented initiatives such as accessible latrines, provision of menstrual hygiene materials and information, support to women’s income-generating activities and voucher programs tailored to meet the needs of women and girls.

Coordination and Vanuatu Humanitarian TeamOxfam has been coordinating the Vanuatu Humanitarian Team (VHT) since its inception in 2011, supporting humanitarian coordination for both disaster preparedness and response. The VHT is a coordination mechanism of 11 humanitarian agencies based in Vanuatu, including UN agencies and the Red Cross. It supports the Vanuatu Government and the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), as well as seven government–led clusters in a co-leadership role. However, the number of organisations actively supporting or implementing the humanitarian response grew to more than 50 since Tropical Cyclone Pam.

We are learning from both women-only and mixed cash-for-work projects and voucher systems to identify the best ways to safely support women in accessing cash and resources in emergencies. We are sharing these lessons with partners and other organisations working in Vanuatu.

Oxfam is also promoting women’s leadership and empowerment as key to resilience. Women have been supported to gain new skills, for example in community sanitation planning, latrine construction and technical aspects of water safety and security management. Oxfam will continue to work with women and men to support women’s role and leadership in community committees such as WASH committees, and in community disaster preparedness.

At the national level, Oxfam has helped to amplify the voices and priorities of women, young people and women and men with a disability to inform post-cyclone plans and practice. Oxfam partnered with the Department of Women’s Affairs, CARE International, UN Women and others to hold a two-day Women in Emergency Response and Recovery forum. More than 140 participants attended from communities across Vanuatu, women’s organisations, disability organisations and humanitarian agencies. Lessons and recommendations were shared with government and non-government agencies and Oxfam will continue to promote these internally and with other organisations. Oxfam also supported members of the Vanuatu Civil Society Disability Network to engage with national stakeholders to promote inclusion of people with disability in recovery projects.

Oxfam is now working on some exciting cyclone recovery initiatives including partnerships with disability organisations and community-based women’s groups in Shefa province.

As VHT coordinator, Oxfam has been working with all members and the sub-cluster groups to plan and coordinate the work of the myriad of agencies across the country. The VHT has worked to provide relief items and services in the following areas (clusters): WASH, food security and agriculture, health and nutrition, gender and protection, shelter, and education. The VHT also supported the NDMO and clusters to monitor and report on the progress of humanitarian activities during this time.

More than 500 humanitarian relief activities are close to finalisation in 38 islands coordinated with the clusters, VHT and the NDMO. The VHT has taken valuable lessons from this emergency response and is currently improving and updating coordination arrangements in the event of another large scale disaster, in advance of the upcoming cyclone season.

In addition to this, Oxfam is managing an AUD$3 million Australian Government-funded agreement as part of the Tropical Cyclone Pam response, coordinating projects of Oxfam and three major international NGOs.

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Port Vila, Vanuatu: Oxfam staff distributed 51 Hygiene kits at Lycee Bouganville school which was acting as a temporary evacuation centre. Photo: Philippe Metois/OxfamAUS.

Epau, Vanuatu: A group of pikinini (children) watch Oxfam activities. Photo: Groovy Banana/OxfamAUS.

Working with partnersOxfam in Vanuatu has a long history of working with partners to both support our own programs and build the capacity of local organisations. As part of the response to Tropical Cyclone Pam, Oxfam is supporting our partners Wan Smolbag, Farm Support Association (FSA), and Vanuatu Society for Disabled People. Through these partnerships, we’re ensuring that our response program is timely, sustainable and contextually appropriate. Highlights of our partners work are:

• 43, 323 lunches provided to individuals from Wan Smolbag, at an average of 515 meals per day.

• 175 households across 10 communities received seeds for fast-yielding plants (2-3 months) from Wan Smolbag.

• 1,602 people over the course of 2,232 appointments have been treated at Wan Smolbag’s health clinic on Efate Island.

• 160 agro-enterprises have received tools and materials, and mentoring, from FSA on Efate, Tanna and Paama islands.

Women engaged in Oxfam plumbing trainingIn villages in north-east Efate, most households don’t have access to quality reliable water or a latrine. Many villagers have only bush toilets and lack knowledge about sanitation and hygiene practices. This is about to change, as representatives from eight communities in north-east Efate attended a special three-day training session conducted by Oxfam. The training was part of Oxfam’s Cyclone Pam Response WASH program, and focused on different types of latrines, plumbing, health and sanitation awareness, and water system maintenance and usage.

Oxfam provides the communities with 50% of the materials required for WASH projects, with communities providing the rest of the materials to foster and demonstrate commitment to sustaining the project. The participants enjoyed the training as they learned a lot and are excited to put their new knowledge into action to improve their lifestyles.

Epule Rural Training Centre accommodated 22 participants — 11 female and 11 male. The facilitators were from Oxfam’s WASH response team in Vanuatu, in partnership with Rural Water Supply Sanitation and Youth with a Mission. The training included both theory and practical sessions, allowing the participants to put their new knowledge and skills into immediate practice. Participants are now expected to engage with their respective villages, to conduct community assessments of the need for household toilets. Action plans will then be developed, training people and building latrines throughout the eight communities. This is an exciting result.

Margrette, a 48-year-old woman from Eton, said: “I no longer need to wait for someone else’s idea to be able to construct a latrine. I can do it on my own now after this training.”

Another very happy woman, Meriam from Epau, told staff: “Although I am a village plumber, I didn’t have knowledge about pipe fitting sizes and where and what each fitting size should be used. After this training I now understand where to use them.”

The training partnership will continue — with the government and these communities — to rebuild the lives of people recovering from Tropical Cyclone Pam and assist them in preparing for the forecasted El Niño-induced drought.

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Efate Island, Vanuatu: Oxfam staff and community members put theory learnt

from Oxfam’s Rural Water Supply Sanitation training

into practice. Photo: WASH Team/OxfamAUS.